Azad Kashmir has variety of mountain ecosystems which are rich in floral and faunal diversity. Th... more Azad Kashmir has variety of mountain ecosystems which are rich in floral and faunal diversity. These ecosystems are fragile and are under stress due to various natural and anthropogenic pressures. Mountain ecosystems of Azad Kashmir are more vulnerable to global warming and are expected to show its impacts rapidly. Climate change may cause major changes in distribution ranges of different vegetation types. As a result of climate change, the area of three vegetation groups (alpine, grassland/arid woodlands and deserts) is expected to decrease and the areas of five types (cold conifer/mixed woodland, cold conifer/mixed forests, temperate conifer/mixed forests, warm conifer/mixed forests, and steppe/arid shrub lands) are expected to increase. Climate change is going to affect conservation of plant species and ecosystems by causing direct loss of plant species and intensify the effects of existing threats such as habitat degradation, deforestation and over-harvesting of plants by local ...
Trees are an important feature of urban ecosystems and provide different environmental and socio ... more Trees are an important feature of urban ecosystems and provide different environmental and socio -economic benefits. Different habitats (roadsides, parks, streets, institutes, graveyards) in Sahiwal, a city in central Punjab, Pakistan were surveyed for the assessment of abundance, diversity and amenity value of urban trees. Forty five tree species belonging to 29 families were recorded. Azadirachata indica, Morus alba, Eugenia jambolana andDalbergia sissoo are the most frequent species. Distribution of trees is highly uneven as only four species showed >50% frequency, seven species had >25% frequency and fourteen species exhibited 5% frequency. Roadside verges had the highest diversity of tree species followed by institutions and parks. Broadleaf deciduous species are abundant whereas conifers and palms are occasionally found in parks and institutions. From a functional point of view, most trees are ornamental type followed by shading trees. Exotic species are higher in number...
The roadside verges of M-3 were surveyed to investigate their floristic composition and the level... more The roadside verges of M-3 were surveyed to investigate their floristic composition and the levels of heavy metals in their soils. For this purpose, the floristic data from 102 quadrats, each 1x2 m in size were collected and their associated soils were analyzed for total lead, cadmium, copper, manganese, iron and zinc. These quadrats were distributed on three zones (border, verge, and fence) within the M-3 verges. Fifty eight plant species were recorded. By considering their frequency and abundance values, Cynodon dactylon, Anagallis arvensis, Imperata cylindrica, Trifolium alexandrianum and Sonchus oleracea were the most frequent and abundant species of M-3. The mean concentrations of total Cu, Cd, Zn, Mn, Pb and Fe in the roadside soils of M-3 were 14.0 µgg-1 , 1.8 µgg-1 , 43.4 µgg-1 , 336.1 µgg-1 , 43.2 µgg-1 and 683.1 µgg-1 respectively. By comparing these values with their standard toxic levels, these soils can be considered as non-contaminated.
This paper presents the results of an assessment of the recreational potential of urban forests i... more This paper presents the results of an assessment of the recreational potential of urban forests in three Eastern European cities carried out by a field survey method. The main criteria for assessing recreational potential were their suitability for recreational use by local inhabitants, the viability of ecological characteristics and the level of management. Fifteen social and ecological characteristics of urban forests were selected as indicators, which were scored and integrated to estimate the recreational potential of the forest. Field data were processed and assessed using ArcGIS software. It was found that large parts of these forests have medium to high recreational potential depending upon their area, age, density of trees and management status. This assessment method proved to be useful for rapid and objective assessment of recreational potential of urban forests and parks because of its simplicity and comprehensiveness and its suitability for use in widely diverse geograph...
This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of the views of the road users about th... more This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of the views of the road users about the scenic beauty of current roadside vegetation and their perceptions of roadside vegetation with improved scenic value. A majority (83%) of the 183 respondents described scenic quality of roadside vegetation as an important feature of roadside environment indicating awareness among the public about the landscape aspects of the roadside environment. The roadside vegetation was described by a majority of the respondents as unpleasant and drab. The respondents showed a positive attitude towards establishing a variety of vegetation types instead of a uniform seed mixture. Grass swards with flowering herbs near the road and trees further away was the most preferred combination of plant types for re-vegetation of road verges. They also showed a greater preference for the re-establishment of native species in the re-vegetation of roadside verges. However, they did not support higher expenditure on the improvement of scenic beauty of roadside vegetation that calls for introduction of cost-effective methods for re-vegetation and management of roadside verges.
This gigantic increase in population has emerged as a matter of great public concern because it i... more This gigantic increase in population has emerged as a matter of great public concern because it is undermining our efforts to raise living standards of our people. It is true that due to mechanized agriculture, use of fertilizers and cultivation of high yielding varieties of grains, agricultural output has increased considerably. Industries are also expanding. But the country is not showing sufficient signs of progress because progress made by Pakistan is being nullified by her rapid population growth.
Leptadenia pyrotechnica is an important medicinal plant of the family, Asclepiadaceae. It is usua... more Leptadenia pyrotechnica is an important medicinal plant of the family, Asclepiadaceae. It is usually found in the desert habitat, and generally used for the treatment of various diseases. The green parts of the plant species are used as fodder and vegetable, and are a very important source of protein, calcium, dietary fiber, phosphorus, vitamin C, and iron. Good quality fibers and many active pharmacological constituents are produced from this plant. The crude extracts of L. pyrotechnica contains five polyphenolic compounds, i.e., caffeic acid, epicatechin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, and quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside. The aim of the present chapter is to entail the details of nutritional, economic, and medicinal values, phytochemistry, and conservation status of this important plant.
Shape changes in wheat grain under heat stress become necessary to determine when shrinkage cause... more Shape changes in wheat grain under heat stress become necessary to determine when shrinkage causes quality loss. High throughput seed morpho-metery is required to quantify the shape changes precisely. In this study, shrinkage of the seed under heat stress has been quantified thus can be used as the indicator of heat stress. Randomized complete block design was followed in which 49 genotypes were examined in 16 replicates, under two treatments (normal and late sown). SmartGrain software was used to quantify the digital images of seeds picked up from two treatments for each genotype in 16 replicates. Seed shape descriptors (length, width, length width ratio, area, perimeter, circularity) were precisely and robustly determined by the use of this software. ANOVA results showed significant effect of heat stress on seed shape. Critical difference, chi-square value mentioned the disparity in seed shape of normal and stressed wheat crop. Maximum heat susceptibility index for seed area was n...
The food security vision for 2050 has frontlined wheat as the major conduit to feed the global po... more The food security vision for 2050 has frontlined wheat as the major conduit to feed the global populace estimated at 9.2 billion. Pakistan ranks 6 in world population and among the top ten countries for wheat production, but annual yield productivity appears to be stagnated due to prevalence of various biotic and abiotic stresses. More recently the incidence of a new foliar wheat disease spot blotch (Cochliobolus sativus) in drought and heat stressed areas of Pakistan has necessitated that a new look on both water use efficiency and spot blotch resistance be taken. Hence this study has attempted to establish a relationship between these two stress influencing constraints. One hundred lines were assessed for intrinsic water use efficiency, canopy temperature, chlorophyll concentration index and spot blotch resistance. Rates of photosynthesis (A) and transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs) and internal CO2 (Ci) were estimated using the Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA). Chlorophyll co...
Quantitative traits exhibit continuous variation, indicating their control through multiple genes... more Quantitative traits exhibit continuous variation, indicating their control through multiple genes. Segregating populations are used to mine out associations between phenotypic and genotypic variations. Phenotyping performed for a specific trait and its variation in the population is justified with genotypic variation obtained through genetic markers application. A snapshot of genotypic variation is strictly dependent on the number and density of the markers applied. Parental and marker information is required to correlate genetic and phenotypic data for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. For many years (now becoming obsolete), it has been of core importance to identify QTL with such methodology. Failure had to be faced by the researcher because the DNA region identified for phenotypic variation was much wider, and needed to be narrowed down by further dense marker application in that area to obtain required and accurate results. Nowadays the focus is on high-throughput technologies to obtain genome-wide resolution: high-throughput sequencing (HTS) is one of them. A comprehensive map of genomic variations can be produced with resequencing or reference genome sequences. Along with expression profiling, new molecular markers can be searched out with QTL analysis. Genomic-assisted breeding by studying the evolutionary variations in crops has many applied aspects as well. As compared to the conventional biparental population, presently the focus is on raising multiparent advanced generation inter- cross (MAGIC) populations to explore the genetic basis of quantitative traits. Probabilities of alleles of interest across the whole genome are calculated through the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Different software packages (such as R-package, Qgene) are used for the estimates. Such whole-genome approaches in QTL analysis are a powerful and recently used technique. In this chapter, all these recent and modified modern techniques are reviewed with the most recent upcoming details. Traditional and modern QTL analyses have clearly been differentiated on applicable grounds.
... Road runoff in a rural landscape will pass to the side of the road where it either ... to fur... more ... Road runoff in a rural landscape will pass to the side of the road where it either ... to further advancements in the field of road science and the move towards more sustainable or ... It also provides a methodology for the sustainable management of road ecosystems, since it provides ...
Roadside verges have obtained an important status in modern landscapes for conservation biodivers... more Roadside verges have obtained an important status in modern landscapes for conservation biodiversity and their soils have a significant role in this regard. In designing more appropriate strategies for the integrated management of roadside habitats for nature conservation, the knowledge of physico-chemical characteristics of their associated soils is a prerequisite. The fertility of roadside soils in northern England was determined both by phytometric assessment using tomato plant and by chemical analyses of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate levels. By comparing levels of these nutrients with their published normal levels, it was found that these soils have sub-optimum to optimum levels of fertility. The results of phytometric assessment revealed that the soils have low to medium levels of fertility. The fertility exhibited a pattern of zonation in the roadside soils with an increase with increasing distance from paved road. Three nutrients were correlated with phytometirc assessmen...
Azad Kashmir has variety of mountain ecosystems which are rich in floral and faunal diversity. Th... more Azad Kashmir has variety of mountain ecosystems which are rich in floral and faunal diversity. These ecosystems are fragile and are under stress due to various natural and anthropogenic pressures. Mountain ecosystems of Azad Kashmir are more vulnerable to global warming and are expected to show its impacts rapidly. Climate change may cause major changes in distribution ranges of different vegetation types. As a result of climate change, the area of three vegetation groups (alpine, grassland/arid woodlands and deserts) is expected to decrease and the areas of five types (cold conifer/mixed woodland, cold conifer/mixed forests, temperate conifer/mixed forests, warm conifer/mixed forests, and steppe/arid shrub lands) are expected to increase. Climate change is going to affect conservation of plant species and ecosystems by causing direct loss of plant species and intensify the effects of existing threats such as habitat degradation, deforestation and over-harvesting of plants by local ...
Trees are an important feature of urban ecosystems and provide different environmental and socio ... more Trees are an important feature of urban ecosystems and provide different environmental and socio -economic benefits. Different habitats (roadsides, parks, streets, institutes, graveyards) in Sahiwal, a city in central Punjab, Pakistan were surveyed for the assessment of abundance, diversity and amenity value of urban trees. Forty five tree species belonging to 29 families were recorded. Azadirachata indica, Morus alba, Eugenia jambolana andDalbergia sissoo are the most frequent species. Distribution of trees is highly uneven as only four species showed >50% frequency, seven species had >25% frequency and fourteen species exhibited 5% frequency. Roadside verges had the highest diversity of tree species followed by institutions and parks. Broadleaf deciduous species are abundant whereas conifers and palms are occasionally found in parks and institutions. From a functional point of view, most trees are ornamental type followed by shading trees. Exotic species are higher in number...
The roadside verges of M-3 were surveyed to investigate their floristic composition and the level... more The roadside verges of M-3 were surveyed to investigate their floristic composition and the levels of heavy metals in their soils. For this purpose, the floristic data from 102 quadrats, each 1x2 m in size were collected and their associated soils were analyzed for total lead, cadmium, copper, manganese, iron and zinc. These quadrats were distributed on three zones (border, verge, and fence) within the M-3 verges. Fifty eight plant species were recorded. By considering their frequency and abundance values, Cynodon dactylon, Anagallis arvensis, Imperata cylindrica, Trifolium alexandrianum and Sonchus oleracea were the most frequent and abundant species of M-3. The mean concentrations of total Cu, Cd, Zn, Mn, Pb and Fe in the roadside soils of M-3 were 14.0 µgg-1 , 1.8 µgg-1 , 43.4 µgg-1 , 336.1 µgg-1 , 43.2 µgg-1 and 683.1 µgg-1 respectively. By comparing these values with their standard toxic levels, these soils can be considered as non-contaminated.
This paper presents the results of an assessment of the recreational potential of urban forests i... more This paper presents the results of an assessment of the recreational potential of urban forests in three Eastern European cities carried out by a field survey method. The main criteria for assessing recreational potential were their suitability for recreational use by local inhabitants, the viability of ecological characteristics and the level of management. Fifteen social and ecological characteristics of urban forests were selected as indicators, which were scored and integrated to estimate the recreational potential of the forest. Field data were processed and assessed using ArcGIS software. It was found that large parts of these forests have medium to high recreational potential depending upon their area, age, density of trees and management status. This assessment method proved to be useful for rapid and objective assessment of recreational potential of urban forests and parks because of its simplicity and comprehensiveness and its suitability for use in widely diverse geograph...
This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of the views of the road users about th... more This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey of the views of the road users about the scenic beauty of current roadside vegetation and their perceptions of roadside vegetation with improved scenic value. A majority (83%) of the 183 respondents described scenic quality of roadside vegetation as an important feature of roadside environment indicating awareness among the public about the landscape aspects of the roadside environment. The roadside vegetation was described by a majority of the respondents as unpleasant and drab. The respondents showed a positive attitude towards establishing a variety of vegetation types instead of a uniform seed mixture. Grass swards with flowering herbs near the road and trees further away was the most preferred combination of plant types for re-vegetation of road verges. They also showed a greater preference for the re-establishment of native species in the re-vegetation of roadside verges. However, they did not support higher expenditure on the improvement of scenic beauty of roadside vegetation that calls for introduction of cost-effective methods for re-vegetation and management of roadside verges.
This gigantic increase in population has emerged as a matter of great public concern because it i... more This gigantic increase in population has emerged as a matter of great public concern because it is undermining our efforts to raise living standards of our people. It is true that due to mechanized agriculture, use of fertilizers and cultivation of high yielding varieties of grains, agricultural output has increased considerably. Industries are also expanding. But the country is not showing sufficient signs of progress because progress made by Pakistan is being nullified by her rapid population growth.
Leptadenia pyrotechnica is an important medicinal plant of the family, Asclepiadaceae. It is usua... more Leptadenia pyrotechnica is an important medicinal plant of the family, Asclepiadaceae. It is usually found in the desert habitat, and generally used for the treatment of various diseases. The green parts of the plant species are used as fodder and vegetable, and are a very important source of protein, calcium, dietary fiber, phosphorus, vitamin C, and iron. Good quality fibers and many active pharmacological constituents are produced from this plant. The crude extracts of L. pyrotechnica contains five polyphenolic compounds, i.e., caffeic acid, epicatechin, gallic acid, vanillic acid, and quercetin-3-β-D-glucoside. The aim of the present chapter is to entail the details of nutritional, economic, and medicinal values, phytochemistry, and conservation status of this important plant.
Shape changes in wheat grain under heat stress become necessary to determine when shrinkage cause... more Shape changes in wheat grain under heat stress become necessary to determine when shrinkage causes quality loss. High throughput seed morpho-metery is required to quantify the shape changes precisely. In this study, shrinkage of the seed under heat stress has been quantified thus can be used as the indicator of heat stress. Randomized complete block design was followed in which 49 genotypes were examined in 16 replicates, under two treatments (normal and late sown). SmartGrain software was used to quantify the digital images of seeds picked up from two treatments for each genotype in 16 replicates. Seed shape descriptors (length, width, length width ratio, area, perimeter, circularity) were precisely and robustly determined by the use of this software. ANOVA results showed significant effect of heat stress on seed shape. Critical difference, chi-square value mentioned the disparity in seed shape of normal and stressed wheat crop. Maximum heat susceptibility index for seed area was n...
The food security vision for 2050 has frontlined wheat as the major conduit to feed the global po... more The food security vision for 2050 has frontlined wheat as the major conduit to feed the global populace estimated at 9.2 billion. Pakistan ranks 6 in world population and among the top ten countries for wheat production, but annual yield productivity appears to be stagnated due to prevalence of various biotic and abiotic stresses. More recently the incidence of a new foliar wheat disease spot blotch (Cochliobolus sativus) in drought and heat stressed areas of Pakistan has necessitated that a new look on both water use efficiency and spot blotch resistance be taken. Hence this study has attempted to establish a relationship between these two stress influencing constraints. One hundred lines were assessed for intrinsic water use efficiency, canopy temperature, chlorophyll concentration index and spot blotch resistance. Rates of photosynthesis (A) and transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs) and internal CO2 (Ci) were estimated using the Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA). Chlorophyll co...
Quantitative traits exhibit continuous variation, indicating their control through multiple genes... more Quantitative traits exhibit continuous variation, indicating their control through multiple genes. Segregating populations are used to mine out associations between phenotypic and genotypic variations. Phenotyping performed for a specific trait and its variation in the population is justified with genotypic variation obtained through genetic markers application. A snapshot of genotypic variation is strictly dependent on the number and density of the markers applied. Parental and marker information is required to correlate genetic and phenotypic data for quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. For many years (now becoming obsolete), it has been of core importance to identify QTL with such methodology. Failure had to be faced by the researcher because the DNA region identified for phenotypic variation was much wider, and needed to be narrowed down by further dense marker application in that area to obtain required and accurate results. Nowadays the focus is on high-throughput technologies to obtain genome-wide resolution: high-throughput sequencing (HTS) is one of them. A comprehensive map of genomic variations can be produced with resequencing or reference genome sequences. Along with expression profiling, new molecular markers can be searched out with QTL analysis. Genomic-assisted breeding by studying the evolutionary variations in crops has many applied aspects as well. As compared to the conventional biparental population, presently the focus is on raising multiparent advanced generation inter- cross (MAGIC) populations to explore the genetic basis of quantitative traits. Probabilities of alleles of interest across the whole genome are calculated through the Hidden Markov Model (HMM). Different software packages (such as R-package, Qgene) are used for the estimates. Such whole-genome approaches in QTL analysis are a powerful and recently used technique. In this chapter, all these recent and modified modern techniques are reviewed with the most recent upcoming details. Traditional and modern QTL analyses have clearly been differentiated on applicable grounds.
... Road runoff in a rural landscape will pass to the side of the road where it either ... to fur... more ... Road runoff in a rural landscape will pass to the side of the road where it either ... to further advancements in the field of road science and the move towards more sustainable or ... It also provides a methodology for the sustainable management of road ecosystems, since it provides ...
Roadside verges have obtained an important status in modern landscapes for conservation biodivers... more Roadside verges have obtained an important status in modern landscapes for conservation biodiversity and their soils have a significant role in this regard. In designing more appropriate strategies for the integrated management of roadside habitats for nature conservation, the knowledge of physico-chemical characteristics of their associated soils is a prerequisite. The fertility of roadside soils in northern England was determined both by phytometric assessment using tomato plant and by chemical analyses of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate levels. By comparing levels of these nutrients with their published normal levels, it was found that these soils have sub-optimum to optimum levels of fertility. The results of phytometric assessment revealed that the soils have low to medium levels of fertility. The fertility exhibited a pattern of zonation in the roadside soils with an increase with increasing distance from paved road. Three nutrients were correlated with phytometirc assessmen...
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